U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, boosted by positive results from Nextflix as investors weighed President Donald Trump’s trade policies.
Dow Jones futures gained about 50 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were up about 24 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures advanced 165 points, or about 0.8%.
Wall Street’s major indexes scored strong gains on Tuesday, the first full day of trading for the new Trump administration.
Equities benefited somewhat from Trump’s decision to avoid imposing high tariffs on imports from friend and foe alike, although he told reporters he was considering imposing levies on both Mexico and Canada next Feb. 1. Tariffs on the European Union and a punitive duty on China were under analysis, Trump mentioned.
Netflix soars after posting strong fourth-quarter results
Positive sentiment continued Wednesday, helped by shares of Netflix (NFLX), which were up about 14% premarket after the streaming giant unveiled a record 19 million new subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2024, notably beating Wall Street estimates.
The increase in subscriptions was driven by a series of blockbuster content launches, including widely acclaimed new seasons and original movies, as well as the rollout of regionally tailored programming that resonated with diverse audiences globally.
Quarterly revenue rose to $9.5 billion, up 8% year-over-year, while net income was around $915 million, showing a 12% growth.
Netflix also reported plans to increase prices for most subscription tiers in the U.S., Canada, Argentina and Portugal, citing increased investment in programming.
Enthusiasm for Stargat
Separately, President Trump publicized a $500 billion joint venture, dubbed Stargate, involving OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL), SoftBank (9984), Microsoft (MSFT), Nvidia (NVDA) and other leading technology companies.
The purpose of the cooperation is to create extensive AI data centers and power production facilities in Texas over the next four years, which will significantly boost the country’s AI capabilities.
On the corporate front, GE Vernova (GEV), the spun-off energy division of General Electric (GE), will release its quarterly results later in the session, and figures are also expected from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Procter & Gamble (PG).
Elsewhere, United Airlines (UAL) advanced more than 4% before the markets opened after the airline reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on optimistic expectations.
Oil prices rebound
Oil prices rose on Wednesday, rebounding after earlier losses on President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to increase energy production.
Benchmarks were lower on Tuesday after Trump presented his plan to maximize oil and gas production, which calls for declaring a national energy emergency to help roll back environmental protections, and the U.S. renunciation of the Paris climate pact.
